Saturday, 30 July 2016

Feels like a while since I've posted an Integrity record on here, and of course it's a test press.

This is a test press of a record which hasn't actually been released yet. A couple of months ago, for record store day, Organized Crime Records reissued the 1995 classic 'Humanity Is The Devil'. They did the same a couple of years earlier for 'Systems Overload', and then a little later they put out an updated, remixed version. Well, the same is going to happen for 'Humanity Is The Devil'. Magic Bullet Records already released it on CD, with the vinyl version to follow at some stage in the near future. This is the test press, with a cover hand made by Dwid himself.

As the year rolls on, I'm still struggling to move on from the major disaster of my lost parcel. One of the items in there was a test press of the recently released Integrity / Power Trip split 12". I bought the record directly from the label, and then paid a little bit extra to have Dwid make a cover for it. Well, the record was coming to me from the States and got lost, but the cover made it over from Belgium just fine. So after I'm left with a handmade cover for a record I don't own.

It's a pretty cool looking cover and all, but it seems a cruel twist for me to get sent two bits of a record and to end up with the more useless bit. Still, one day I may be able to pick up the record, and there will be a nice cover waiting for it.

Sunday, 24 July 2016

My interest in records, and in particular Revelation represses, fell off a cliff recently. But sometimes when you go off track, you can get pulled back unexpectedly. And so it was with this yellow vinyl repress of 'Bringin' It Down'.

When I first saw it I was disappointed that it had been made at all. I mean, back in 2001 I bought what I was told was the 'final press' of this record. Then a few months ago Rev delivered a 25 year anniversary edition, which I could forgive as it was, in theory, a one off. But another repress on another colour just felt like a line had been crossed. I wasn't excited by it, and wasn't too fussed about picking one up. But then two things happened - firstly, a photo of a transition copy appeared on instagram and then, more importantly, it suddenly sold out. It turns out that only 252 copies were pressed, and I guess the numbers of people buying two copies in the hope of finding another transition copy had ensured it sold double quick. I then did what any self-respecting Rev collector would do - I panicked, and started searching frantically for one . Thankfully I was able to find one for sale via another online retailer, so I grabbed one while I still could.

A few people have been saying that this new yellow pressing is too close to the 2001 'final press', although I don't really see it.